December 24, 2009

high contrast !

click photo for full-size imagephoto by Donald Kinney

This is taken from the Marin Headlands in the Point Bonita area. This is the famous Golden Gate through which gold seekers -- those who didn't arrive by land -- entered in their conquest for gold. Many people are under the conception that the Bridge is what the Golden Gate is all about, but geographically speaking the Bridge is way to the east.Notice a bit of dreaded blown-out whites (spike) on the right side of the Histogram.

click photo for full-size imagephoto by Donald Kinney

Oh, high-contrast stuff is SO much fun... Showing you the Histogram for these shots is just a little bit embarrassing -- lots of nearly blown-out whites and shadows without detail. Technically, not the best, but the best under the circumstances -- I think they're rather arty. For all you camera techies, I used two stops of Exposure Compensation. I usually trust the Histogram more than I trust my eyes. Actually, for as bright as that water is, it isn't blown-out (hardly) at all. If it were, there would be a tall spike on the right side of the scale. Right now there is just a small spike. But look at my "blown-out" blacks -- not a speck of detail in them and the chart shows there's a great deal of black in the photo. Sometimes you have to swap technical perfection for artiness.